Blind Date

[Hailyn]

x

Cinnagar City, Core District - The Verge Cafe

For every day of Lily's life, she had been someone. Be it the daughter of an infamous Sith, or maybe the daughter of the business titan Alric Kuhn, and more recently she'd been known almost exclusively as "Empress". Rarely ever, if ever, was the redhead known more by who she actually was - as a person - than the people and occupations that made her famous to anyone besides her parents and siblings. Today was a nice break from routine, and for once she was just a pretty rich girl among thousands in the Core District on Empress Teta's capital city. Nadja had talked her into letting her set her up on a blind date with some guy she said she knew of - probably someone she knew through family connections. The brunette would be handling Lily's work, the endless paperwork that she had on her desk regarding the system's shifting to align with the Galactic Alliance, and the redhead was certainly glad to have the evening off for once.

And where had the mischievous Keto sent Lily on her blind date? Where else if not the newest, exclusive, cafe nestled in the middle of the Core District? The Verge was a cafe that Eryn Korus - some Tetan entrepreneur that spent his credits on buying and building restaurants, bars, and clubs rather than living in the political scene - had built to attract the richest young Tetan nobles and their deep-pocketed friends for what was currently very "in" - Stimcaf, caf, coffee, and stim tea. Of course Lily loved the quiet ambience of cafes, and considering the size and spread of The Verge she was happy her date was there. Dimly lit, tables spread across a snug floor plan meant to invite privacy for its patrons, and a quiet, subtle, jazz played in the background. Everything came together to guarantee a good experience, and while Lily hadn't yet visited she was sure she'd at least enjoy the drink and food.

The young twenty-something Lily Kuhn stepped into the quiet cafe with a searching look, eyes sweeping across the tables closer to the front of the restaurant - a place where most similar establishments placed their largest amount of tables to encourage those who were less inclined to privacy to seat, allowing their bigger spenders that otherwise demanded their piece and quiet to sit further in and farther from the outside world. She noticed that, even in the bustling city of Cinnagar, few of the patrons had sat at the front of the cafe, though considering the time of day and day of the week it wasn't exactly a busy period for the store. A man that appeared to be the host for the establishment stopped arranging menus behind a short podium that was off to the side of the door and stepped over toward her. "Welcome to The Verge. How may I help you, madame?" The man asked, bringing Lily's attention to him. "Oh, I'm supposed to be meeting someone here. Has anyone mentioned that they would be waiting for someone?" Lily answered.

"I am afraid not, but if you would like me to relay to them - when they arrive - that you are waiting then I would be happy to do so." He said, to which Lily answered with a nod and a slight smile. "Thank you, I'll be in the back - I'm only expecting one - at a table for two." She said before walking towards the back of the cafe, beyond the bar. Normally, in order to command the kind of attention that comes with being royalty, Lily would have been found in public wearing very formal clothing. Today, partially to keep people from recognizing, Lily's hair was up in a loose bun, a few stray strands of hair hanging here or there, and she wore only a light shade of lipstick and some blush. Rather than some kind of ballroom gown that most people saw her wear during her coronation, Lily instead indulged in a dark green mock-neck sweater dress and knee-high black socks that sat snugly inside of her black leather heels. Finding her seat under a dim light just a bit further than the bar at a table set for two, Lily wondered who her mystery man would be.

[member="Asharad Graush"]

 

[Asharad Graush]

A'sharad sat in the back of a black speeder, with black tinted windows to match. He leaned back within the chair as his Pureblood driver maneuvered it through the downtown of Cinnagar City. They had arrived at the planet a few hours earlier, but they took the scenic route to key locations within Cinnagar. Specifically the locations that had seen combat when the One Sith had taken the planet, and when the Mandalorians attacked. Plenty of death, all over the place, and it almost seemed as if none of these people seemed to realize it.

"If the First Order makes it this far, do you think the City will survive?"

It would take time before the Imperials made it so far into the Core. By that time, A'sharad assumed the Alliance will be blocking their progress. That... That would be when the First Order had had enough and would wage war, he was sure of it.

Glancing back to the glowing crimson orbs sitting across from him, there was only a grunt in response from Arvengis.

The speeder came to a stop and he opened the door himself. "Stay close," the Sith Knight said as he swung his feet out of the horribly conspicuous speeder. Black pants, a plain back shirt, and a black suit jacket. Slipping one of the buttons through the middle hole of the opposing side of the suit, A'sharad closed the door of the speeder and it took off as he headed into the... Coffee shop.

It wasn't too late to leave, he knew, but he was committed, or rather, curious.

The hostess -- er, host, came up quick from his peripheries.

The man opened his mouth, but the words came from A'sharad mouth instead.

"A reserved table for two, I'm expected."

"Uh... Yes, Sir, this way."

And the host did what hosts did, led the way. In anticipation of being able to sit soon, his left hand rose from his side, and fiddled with the button, preparing to slip it loose so as to take it off quicker when the time came. His right hand however remained in the small of his back, all four of his fingers clenched tightly. And when they were a few metres away, the host stepped out of the way and indicated to the table -- already occupied. So he... Wasn't on time. Not perfectly anyway, he knew. Clearing his throat after the host disappeared, he closed the distance with a few long strides and said, "A'sharad Graush, at your service," he introduced in what he thought would be considered smooth, his normally cold, commanding voice was rather polite, even the golden orbs in his face betrayed his interest.

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

 

[Hailyn]

Lily had taken her seat facing away from the front of the cafe, meaning his arrival wasn't noticed before he was already at the table. She often did this kind of thing when meeting new people or friends as a way to keep herself from not seeming surprised or happy - it kept her smiles genuine and spontaneous. That's exactly what she gave A'sharad, a soft smile that showed she was happy he'd shown up. When he'd finally stepped into view she made a serious mental note to ask Nadja all about this A'sharad Graush person and how she knew of him. Where Yarva was handsome in a rural, innocent, way, A'sharad was handsome in how much attention he put to how he acted - more mature, she supposed. Of course Yarva was nearly ten years her junior, so it would only be right to make that comparison. She couldn't quite say which of the two were better looking, but right now it wasn't the main thing on her mind - introductions were.

"Hi." She replied with a slightly broader smile, both of her slender hands folded over the other in her lap, with her knees kept tightly together, ankles crossed. "I'm Lily Kuhn." Lily said, wondering if she was only stating the obvious - or if Nadja had filled in whoever had finagled this date with who she was. "I suppose my name probably rings a bell, though." She added with a slight blush, glancing down at the table, where her hands had been raised to. "So, where are you from originally?" She asked, looking back up at A'sharad. She was fairly certain he wasn't from Teta - though with how many extended families there were she wouldn't really be all too surprised if he was. She had a few other questions, but she didn't want to seem too interested - some guys thought that meant women were clingy, although that wasn't really all that true - and she also didn't want to make this a one-sided conversation.

[member="Asharad Graush"]

 

[Asharad Graush]

A'sharad wasn't sure what to expect when he had seen her back. He wasn't nervous, just... Unsure. A difficult thing to explain, surely anyone would be able to understand. A'sharad's golden orbs took in her emerald gaze with a small, almost boyish grin as his hand went to scoop up her own from the table after he had opened up the suit jacket. While he lowered himself into the chair opposite her, he lifted her hand, surprisingly delicate and placed a gentle kiss over her knuckles, all the while, the glow of his yellow eyes watched her intently.

After straightening, he shrugged the jacket from his shoulders, and placed it over the back of the chair.

"Oh... I'm aware of who you are," he said with an amused smile. The way she blushed... He pushed it out of his mind as he chewed the inside of his cheek. His right hand was placed gently on his lap, underneath the table and out of sight. Best to save that as a surprise for another time. Not to mention it held a recent wound. Ambushed on Bespin. He had stopped a downwards thrust with a poisoned knife. A horrible day. A jacket ruined too. A horrible day indeed. And then she asked him where he was from.

The question brought a smile to his face, though he couldn't say as to why. Perhaps it'd be the likely surprise he expected to see on her face.

"Prakith." There was a pause from him before he continued on to say, "I've since moved however..." Where did he even live these days? His first thoughts had gone to Yalara where the White Wolves establishment was, and then to Dosuun, but he spent even less time there than he did Yalara. Tantorus was an idea, but even then they were merely short visits. Much of his time was spent travelling between those three places, and for this specific day, Empress Teta.

"Yalara is where much of my time is spent."

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

 

[Hailyn]

It took Lily a moment to picture a star map containing Yalara on it - she certainly knew where Prakith was, her mother had once held a fortress there - and a moment or two longer, still, to recall which government or faction laid claim to the planet and its surrounding sector. "Oh, so you've seen much of the First Order, then?" Lily asked. She didn't really care if the Galactic Alliance and First Order didn't really get along, she wasn't beholden to their passive-aggressive tendencies so long as A'sharad wasn't some kind of genocidal maniac, or at least the kind that did it for fun or because he thought it was right. Her stance on people who did some pretty messed up things had shifted when she'd been put in the position as a figurehead for the Krath, a sort of public political leader of the party that claimed to be the Krath - though they truly were more or less a front for the actual cult, which Lily was still in a position of leadership within - and after a short talk with her father about her concerns with what decisions she might get pushed into making.

"My mother used to live on Prakith for a time, before she had me - and before she passed." She added, trying to ensure that she give away something about her whenever she asked something of him. She could tell he hadn't really settled down on Yalara, based on the seeming difficulty it took for him to decide on it as his home, but she wasn't going to push for anything else there. He had answered her question with the mention of Prakith but had gone a step further and given her more. Though he was a little more distant than she was used to, maybe a little more reserved in thought, he still had that friendly vibe, like he was someone she could get along with. Then again, there weren't many people Lily didn't get along with. "I hope you weren't drawn to Teta just to meet me, though - travel from Yalara to Cinnegar must have taken ages, anything more than a day away always justifies a faster hyperdrive for me. I can't say the same for some of my friends, though; they seem to think taking the normal time to go to and from Zeltros is even remotely sane." Lily said with a smile.

[member="Asharad Graush"]

 

[Asharad Graush]

A'sharad nodded at her statement. Had he seen much of the First Order? Most of it, actually. From the Dead Nebula to Yalara, from Dosuun to the Sanctuary Pipeline that cut through the First Order's Space, he had ventured to many of the worlds, if only so that he may do his job of safeguarding the Imperials Space better. His golden orbs glowed as he looked into her emerald gaze. Many of the planets he visited in the name of the First Order usually ended with putting down local insurgencies and ending rebellions before they could gain ground. "Even helped with its expansion," he said.

"Oh," he said shortly when she mentioned that her mother had passed, though besides a slight twist of the corner of his lips into what could approximate into being a frown, there was not much else to suggest that the Sith actually cared. Projecting emotions and all that, that was fairly difficult to do when someone told you your entire life that you existed to end life. It de-sensitized death. A dead family member? Not even a blink. In truth, he could care less when it came to the loss of life of those he didn't know. Unnecessary information that was forced to test his morals and emotions.

Tedious.

The correct response would've been a statement of feeling sorry, but he couldn't bring himself to actually do so. Never, would he utter the words of 'I'm sorry.'

After clearing his throat however, he said, "Of course you weren't the only thing that brought me so far into the Core. Teta was the focus of many battles," he said. "But... You are certainly the primary reason for my being here," he went as far to say.

"Have you visited many worlds? Outside of the Core, that is?"

[member="Lily Kuhn"]